Horchata Cookies with Queso Fresco

If you've been keeping up on my recipes this week, you know that I've been making use of the wonderful cheeses from Queso Del Valle. I thought a dessert would be a nice way to end the week. Lulu and I had lunch at the appropriately named "Lulu's" Mexican restaurant last Sunday, and we both enjoyed a nice cup of horchata (cinnamon-flavored rice drink). I thought it would be fun to capture the rice and cinnamon flavors of the drink in an edible form.

I made cookies with queso fresco and incorporated sweetened condensed milk, horchata, almonds, rice flour and cinnamon. I didn't stop there and topped the moist cookies with cinnamon and crema Mexicana sour cream icing.

These horchata cookies turned out great and I might whip another fusion dessert before the weekend is over. How do profiteroles filled with Mexican vanilla-flavored queso fresco and crema Mexicana sour cream sound? I think it would be even more luscious if the profiteroles are drizzled with dulce leche. Mmmm...

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or a sheet of parchment paper. Using a measuring tablespoon, form 20 balls of cookie dough and place onto the baking sheet. Make sure to space the cookies about 2 inches apart so that they don't touch each other as they expand when they bake.

Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. Don't over bake them; you want them to be moist. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Layer a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet (for easy clean-up of the cinnamon icing). Transfer the cookies onto the cooling rack.

Tips

I used Odense brand almond paste. I love it for when I need a shortcut; it produces delicious pastries.

You can also freeze the tray of the unbaked cookies for at least one hour, then transfer the cookies into bags that you vacuum-seal and place back in the freezer. I think it's the best way to keep the same flavor without getting freezer burn. You can store them up to 2 months in the freezer for last minute surprise guests.

Rice flour adds a great texture to the cookies. You can find rice flour in most Asian stores, but I prefer grinding my own. I get a finer flour using the Nutrimill brand mill. You could also replace it with regular all-purpose flour.